1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a travelator including a conveyor for conveying people. Furthermore, the invention relates to a method for releasing a conveyor module of a travelator conveyor. In addition, the invention relates to a method of assembling a travelator conveyor.
2. Related Art
Travelators intended for transporting passengers are known, e.g. from Japanese patent document JP 2003-20181, U.S. Pat. No. 1,689,201, U.S. Pat. No. 2,769,522, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,592,139, each of which is incorporated herein by reference. In these, the conveyor includes a large number of adjacent narrow belts, several such belts being arranged over the width of the conveyor to transport users of the travelator. The conveyor has a large number of shafts, which are arranged parallel to each other, at a distance from each other and transversely to the transport direction of the conveyor. Connected to each shaft are a number of belt pulleys placed side by side. Further, the conveyor comprises a number of mutually parallel endless belts. The mutual arrangement of the belts is so implemented that they are interlaced with respect to each other in a comb-like fashion around each shaft. Each belt is passed over two belt pulleys on two successive shafts. Of each two closely adjacent belts on the same common shaft that are passed over adjacent belt pulleys, one belt is passed over a belt pulley on the previous shaft adjacent to the common shaft while the other belt adjacent to the aforesaid belt is passed over a belt pulley on the next shaft adjacent to the aforesaid common shaft. The belts may serve as power transmitting belts or the power transmission to the shafts may be implemented via external power transfer. The belts are tensioned e.g. by adjusting the distance between the shafts.
A problem with the prior-art construction is that the assembly of the travelator has to be started from the first shaft with the belts for that shaft already mounted on it and the next belts have to be placed between the previous ones before the next shaft is inserted into the belt loops and before the belts are tightened to their proper positions by adjusting the distance between the shafts. The assembly work advances from one end of the travelator to the other, producing a continuous structure, which, as the whole structure forms a single tensioned belt mat, can not be severed e.g. to allow replacement of a broken belt. A further problem is that this type of construction makes it necessary to carry out the entire assembly of the apparatus at the site of installation. In the case of a long conveyor (100 . . . 1000 m), installation and maintenance of the apparatus becomes unreasonably difficult.